Company

SARAD GmbH. Competence in Security and Environment

SARAD GmbH was founded in 1993 as a German company and is working in the field of sensor- and security technology. Main residence is the Capital of Saxony Dresden with offices in China, Kazakhstan, Latin America, Russia and South Africa. Our main office and production facility is about 2000 sqm and has all modern high-tech equipment and tools for production and a metrological laboratory for instruments calibration and quality control.

Engineering and production staff of SARAD has wide-range experience in science, research and development. We engineer and manufacture the measuring techniques for Radon and its daughter products as well as radiation aerosol monitors.

Our quality management (QM) system meets all the requirements of ISO 9001:2008. Total quality control on all stages of development, purchasing and manufacturing processes let us develop and produce only high quality professional trouble-free equipment for secure work and life.

An innovative design and our own detector technology together with long years’ experiences in the instrumentation in non-urban regions are the warranty for an intuitive and safe handling of our products and for flexible and robust solutions with continuous data acquisition done under field conditions.

The innovative power and potential of our Company was appreciated by the President of the Federal Republic of Germany and the official German institutions such as the Government of Saxony for several times.

Since more than 20 years we develop innovative equipment detecting the hazards caused by radioactive aerosols and we offer the world largest and most unique spectrum of measuring techniques for Radon / Thoron activity concentration in the air and their daughter products (equilibrium equivalent concentration (EEC)) as well as radioactive aerosol monitors for nearly any application.

In many countries, radon is the second most important cause of lung cancer after smoking. The proportion of lung cancers attributable to radon is estimated to range from 3 to 14%. Significant health effects have been seen in uranium miners who are exposed to high levels of radon. However, studies in Europe, North America and China have confirmed that lower concentrations of radon – such as those found in homes – also confer health risks and contribute substantially to the occurrence of lung cancers worldwide.

The risk of lung cancer increases by 16% per 100 Bq/m3 increase in radon concentration. The dose-response relation is linear – i.e. the risk of lung cancer increases proportionally with increasing radon exposure. Radon is much more likely to cause lung cancer in people who smoke. That’s why serious preventive measures for personnel protection avoiding inhalation are absolutely necessary.

For these dangerous situations we are very pleased to offer two types of personnel detectors such as personal radon exposimeter/dosimeter DOSEman, which detects the radioactivity dose caused by incorporable radioactive aerosols, and personal dosimeter for inhalation dose MyRiam, which is able to identify such typical radiation sources of alpha and beta radiation as Pu-238/239, Am-241, Ra-226 for α-radiation and Sr-90, J-131, Cs-137 for β-radiation and others. These substances are typical candidates for usage in "Dirty bombs".

Radiation measurements are the basic actions to be taken with workplaces, storages and residential buildings that are poorly vented and subject to an increased Radon concentration due to the increased contents on natural radioactive substances from the building site. SARAD’s engineers perform Radon measurements, develop the measurement package and check its constructional fulfilment. For fixed and mobile area/building monitoring we can offer our well-known passive Radon monitors
RadonScout / RadonScout Plus, new passive Thoron monitor ThoronScout, multi-parameter Radon/Thoron monitors RTM-1688, RTM-2200 and high flow multi-radiation (alfa-beta) Area Aerosol Monitor with Gamma and Toxic/Combustible Gas Sensor as one of options, which are fulfilling distinct customer requirements. Indoor spaces can also be monitored for aerosols and toxic and explosive gases by means of the unique GPS-equipped A2M4000 instrument.

Radioactive aerosols are very dangerous for human. In case of inhalation of radioactive gases or aerosols radioactive sources will be incorporated into the body. It means that the sources reach the sensitive biological cells almost instantly. There is no attenuation of radiation intensity caused by air or human skin. A very small amount of radioactive material produces a strong exposition if the source is incorporated.

In connection with our high flow multi-radiation area aerosol monitors the whole range of airborne radioactivity is covered.
Research, development and production of gamma radiation detectors are also one of the main points of our company. The nuclear reactor accident in Chernobyl has shown that permanent monitoring of the concentration of radioactivity in air and waters is impossible. Now our company can offer our clients worldwide a spectroscopic hand-held gamma monitor NucScout based on NaI-Detector with nuclide analysis, GPS, and wireless interface for site characterization and source identification. This monitor is designed for installation in buildings or vehicles (e.g. the reconnaissance vehicle) as well as for mobile applications for searching and nuclide identification with map based visualization of area distribution of contamination at any place.

Consumers around the world are concerned of possibly radioactive contaminated food. Producers, traders and customers want to be sure that limits given by law will not be exceeded. The Bio-Scout offers the possibility for an immediate test on site without special skilled staff. The unit fits to any table and can be handled intuitively. The robust and ergonomic design allows easy cleaning if necessary. There is no need for shielding against background radiation by heavy lead or steel elements. The internal scale enables the direct calculation of the weight related activity including the sample density correction. A large Sodium Iodide (NaI) detector and the optimized sampling geometry in combination with an advanced spectrum analysis result in short sampling periods and a high sample throughput.

In the mining industry the radiation exposure of the employees is given by Radon and its progeny products in the air they breathe. This is valid for the salt mines with Radon concentration of around 10 Bq/m, as well as in the lignite and ore mines of Radon concentrations of a 1,000 Bq/m and more, especially in uranium mines, in mine shafts, tunnels, and caves. SARAD’s measurements both for the sites and for the employees by personal Radon meters are being used to evaluate the effects of ventilation and to indicate the people on their risk. For this application we recommend to use our EQF32xx, A2M4000 and DOSEman/DOSEman Pro.

It is well known that with the Radon detection it is suitable to build up an earthquake early warning system as radon gas is coming up through micro cracks in the soil before the real earthquake. The soil gas probe from SARAD that detects (radioactive) Radon emerging at the surface of ground was developed specifically for geophysical applications. The compact and rough cover made from stainless steel allows the usage of the probe inside bore holes from three inch (76.2 mm) up and is connected with the waterproof analysing system. The electronics as well as the detector are protected by a special urethane coating to ensure long operation times even under extreme conditions as expected in seismic and volcanic active areas (e.g. H2S). A large area silicon diffusion membrane causes a short response time. Sensors for temperature and humidity are integrated in addition to the radon chamber.

The stations are working under rough environmental conditions like strong temperature variations between day/night and summer/winter. In this case our stations are equipped with air conditioning and special protection systems for sensors and detectors. All systems can be based on the MEDAS system that was the base of our DACM technology. It allows us to connect all our stations via GSM or other connection possibilities in one network with data transfer to a central monitoring office. A big number of sensors, including Radon/Thoron, pH, Redox, Conductivity, CO2, Methane etc. are operated by this stations.

There are a big number of applications which our devices and systems can be used for, but main of them are:

Personal dosimetry

Environmental monitoring

Public safety

Home security

Fixed/mobile area / building monitoring

Radiological safety on industrial sites

Radiation protection and nuclear safety

Mining industry

Radiological and isotope laboratories

Detection of contamination in food, soil, water and other probes

Geophysical applications

SARAD GmbH today”s offers to our clients worldwide:

Development and manufacturing of sensor systems detecting radioactive alpha, beta and gamma radiation in soil, water and in the air

Development and manufacturing of self-configurationg sensor networks for mobile area monitoring and protection of first responders.

Development and manufacturing of comprehensive environment monitoring systems with application in environment protection and survilance of climatic changes

System engineering and manufacturing monitoring vehicles for security applications

"RiskProtect"-software to understand and control complex risky situations in cases of terrorism, organized crime or emergencies, which cannot be predicted. . Such scenarios are subject to a large number of factors influencing each other; their temporary behaviour generates a very high complexity. Without specific software ineffective or faulty decisions in many cases are the consequence. Sometimes measures may cause the opposite of their intention.

We are involved into several German and European competence networks established to increase the security of "critical infrastructures" like airports, harbours, railway systems or chemical plants. To achieve the ambitious security goals SARAD is cooperating within several networks of forward-looking companies, research institutes and organisations. All customers of SARAD will benefit from the competence which is available in these networks.

Worldwide SARAD GmbH is one of the leading developer and manufacturer of nuclear radiation detectors, especially for the Radon/Thoron detection and detection of radioactive aerosols.